Konferenz der Mennonitengemeinden in Uruguay

The Konferenz der Mennonitengemeinden in Uruguay (Conference of Mennonite Churches in Uruguay) includes the German-speaking Mennonite (General Conference Mennonite) congregations of Uruguay, consisting of those Mennonites who fled Danzig and West Prussia in 1945. The first group of 750 immigrants arrived 27 October 1948. Of these more than 500 were from Danzig and West Prussia, more than 100 from Lemberg, in Galicia, and 82 from Poland. They founded the El Ombú congregation in 1950. The second group of immigrants, comprising 429 persons, arrived 19 October 1951. These founded the Gartental Colony in 1952. A congregation was also organized in Montevideo the same year. The congregation at Delta was founded in 1955. The Conference, originally a subsidiary of the Vereinigung in Germany, was organized 21 February 1953.

These three settlements (Delta, El Ombú, and Gartental) are primarily agricultural and have organized separate producer-consumer cooperatives. Each settlement has a school, retirement center, and a hospital-nursing home. While the congregation in each settlement is autonomous, there is much cooperation. The conference meets in session annually for discussion of mutual interests and work.

In 1956 the Seminario Evangélico Mennonita de Teologia (Evangelical Mennonite Theological Seminary) began its work in Montevideo. Students and church workers from other countries in Latin America also participated in the program until it was moved to Asunción, Paraguay, in 1974. A home for students studying in Montevideo was established in 1960.

The conference coordinates the service and social welfare work of the congregations, including the mission congregations among Spanish-speaking Uruguayans (Convención de las Iglesias Menonitas en Uruguay). A bookstore has been established to provide literature to the German-speaking congregations. A monthly periodical, Konferenznachrichten (Conference News), helps to maintain contact among the congregations. In 1986 the four German-speaking congregations had a membership of 525. In 2003 there were 507 members in the four congregations.